Picking Up the Pieces
by WingsOfSilverSorrow
Summary: Kouji knows he wasn't the reason his stepmother did the unthinkable. But that doesn't matter when his classmates and even his own alcoholic father is against him, and only his four friends, twin brother, and a dog are on his side. New Story, please review
1. Snow

**Hello, this is WingsOfSilverSorrow (Call me Silver or WOSS if you want), and thank you for reading my story! This is basically about Kouji and how his life turns out after Digimon Frontier. For some reason I see this in my mind as a manga, with the characters looking like Takaya-senseii's drawings (author of Fruits Basket). Well, enjoy!**

**Chapter 1**

**Snow**

Kouji woke up to the beeping of his cell phone that Friday, and had just managed to muster the energy to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Kouji-kun! We're having a snow day today, didn't you hear?!"

Kouji almost instantly had to pull back the phone due to the volume of the estatic response.

"We are?"

"I just got the call! Anyway, do you want to come to my house to have some fun with all the snow? I am going to call Takuya-kun, Kouichi-san, Junpei-san, and Tomoki-kun, too!"

"When should I come?" Kouji asked, glancing at the clock on the wall of his bedroom. 7:43.

"Come now! Bring all your snow gear, especially your snow pants!"

"Okay. Thank you for inviting me, Izumi-chan," Kouji replied.

"No problem. After all...," there was a pause. "...we can't just have you all depressed and upset, Kouji-kun. I thought this would be good for you."

"I think it will."

Kouji hung up, and sat up straight in his bed. He was thinking hard about something.

_"We can't just have you all upset and depressed, Kouji-kun!"_

_Why...__...do you want to help me...__...so much..._

_...Takuya...__Nii-san..__...Izumi...?_

His bedroom door creaked, and the short, slim Satomi appeared in the doorway.

"Who was on the phone, Kouji?" she asked, her tired eyes gazing at him. Her voice was stoic and calm.

"Izumi. She wants me to come over and play in the snow."

"Oh..." Satomi put a hand to her lips. "You must have a snow day..."

She was quiet, and Kouji winced when he realized she wouldn't be able to get to work that day.

"Well...I'll get dressed and walk with you to her house. I need to run some errands in town anyway."

Kouji couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong. Yet he couldn't just ask about it, since that didn't get anywhere.

"...Okay."

Twenty minutes later, Kouji was wearing his grey winter coat, his navy blue gloves and scarf, and was just putting on his navy cap. In a plastic bag he had his snow jacket and his snowpants, which he carried at that moment.

Satomi had a similar attire in tan hues, and had managed to find the time to go through her hair with a comb and a barette.

Kouji couldn't get something out of his mind.

_Why is she acting like this today...so stoic and lifeless?_

He glanced up at her.

"Satomi...?"

His stepmother looked down at him, and gave him a weak smile.

"Yes, Kouji?"

_Was it because of Dad?_

"...Nothing." he said rashly. "Forget I said anything."

A new thought reached his mind.

_Was it because of me?_

_-o-o-o-_

"Izumi, I know I've said this a million times, but your house is awesome."

Izumi rolled her eyes at Takuya's dumbfounded comment.

Takuya, Kouichi, and Tomoki were all standing in the front yard, the snow up to their calfs, awaiting Kouji's arrival. They gawked at the large red brick house, which was glazed over in cottony white snow at the windows and over the roof. The large, hilly backyard looked like the north pole with it's frosted pine trees and white wonder.

Izumi, tightening the pink scarf around her neck, skimmed road for Kouji. She wondered if he would be able to get through all of the snow, since the roads by her house hadn't been cleared yet.

"Do you think Ji-san's coming, Takuya-nii-san?" Tomoki asked innocently, dressed in a bundle of green and white.

"Shh..._Chi-san_ says he doesn't like our little nickname," Takuya snickered. "Hee, hee..."

"I don't either." Kouichi growled angrily.

"Get used to it, Chi-san!" Tomoki giggled brightly.

"You know you're literally calling us _One_ and_ Two..."_

"That's the point!" Takuya teased. "There are so many good nicknames for you guys. Well, Kouji that is. Ji-san...Akito...Shorty..."

"Kouji's not that short." Kouichi objected. "You and I are just tall. Izumi's about the same height, you know. I think."

"By, what, three inches?"

"I have to agree with him on one thing,"

Izumi turned away from her search and laughed.

"...with his new haircut, he looks just like a younger Akito-san from _Fruits Basket!_"

"What, that girly Shojo manga?" said Tomoki, stereotyping.

"Boys read them too!"

"Do you know any?" Takuya muttered.

Izumi sighed, defeated, and just as she turned to the road she saw two figures approaching, slowing trudging through the dense snow.

_Oh! There he is...but why's Satomi with him?_

The two of them seemed to be talking about something important. Kouji was in deep thought, but his stepmother seemed to be keeping her end of the conversation as light as possible. Izumi noticed there were bags underneath her eyes, and how tired and weary she looked.

Suddenly she stopped Kouji by grabbing his shoulder so he would face her. She leaned down and whispered something to him, her hand touching the side of his face, blocking his expression from view.

After a moment, Satomi straightened but still clung to the long strands of hair on the sides of Kouji's face. She heard a shout of good-bye and before Izumi had known it, she had gone off on another road.

Leaving Kouji alone in the middle of the street, a confused, shocked expression plastered to his face.

_-o-o-o-_

_"Don't worry about me, Kouji-chan...your father can do better than that if he wants to scare me."_

"Kouji-kun?"

Kouji felt Izumi's hand on his shoulder, and someone else nudge him.

"Kouji-senpei...?" Tomoki asked him, looking up at him with his round eyes.

_Why is everyone **touching **me today?_

"_Ji-saaaaaaan!"_

_He did** NOT** just say what I know he said._

"Hey, Ji-san, buddy!" Takuya exclaimed. He flung his arms lightly around Izumi and Kouji's necks. "We thought you weren't coming!"

"_Off, _Takuya." Kouji warned darkly.

"Aw, c'mon, Ji-san...!"

_"Stop calling me that, dammit!"_

"No need to swear, Kouji."

"Yeah, you better listen to _Chi-san, Ji-san!_"

"Actually, Takuya, he's right. Shut it."

Izumi could only sigh as the boys bickered among themselves.

"Cut it out, Takuya. We don't want to scare Kouji away already. Let's just go to the backyard and sled."

"Whoo-hoo! Sledding!"

"Bet I can get sled down the hill faster!"

"Can _not!_"

Kouji watched Tomoki and Takuya run around the side of the house as Kouichi and Izumi walked tiredly behind them.

_"Your father may now be a drunken fool now, and I know just as well as you that he is not afraid to carry out his threats to hurt your mother...or your brother._

_But trust me..."_

Kouji felt a chill run down his spine as he remember her last words.

_"From now on, he's going to regret everything he's done to us."_

_"You'll see..."_

* * *

**Yay! My first chapter is done! My other story was crap, believe me (hehe), and I hope this is better. This has been in my mind for quite some time now...**

**Please Review! I allow unsigned reviews!**

**WingsOfSilverSorrow**


	2. Anything Can Happen

**Desu to everyone who read the first chapter! Here is the second!**

**Chapter 2**

**Anything Can Happen**

"OK...let's pick teams for a snowball fight!"

"That'd be awesome! But we have five people..."

Hearing this, Kouji turned to Izumi.

"Where's Junpei-senpei? I thought you called him."

"Well..." Izumi trailed off. "I _thought _he was coming..."

_Splat._

Kouji felt something cold hit the side of his cheek, and he whirled immediately.

"Oops! Sorry, Akito!" called an older boy from the street, who was now approaching the house. "That was for Takuya!"

"You might just want to call him by his nicknames, Junpei...he almost murdered me when I called him Ji-san..." Takuya warned, pretending to be serious. He was the one who had thought up of the snowball fight.

"It was pretty funny..." Tomoki snickered, who had reinforced the idea of a fight.

Junpei had now come up to the side of the house, grinning.

"Fine, no nicknames. But let's get on with that snowball fight!"

Takuya and Izumi were the captains, and Takuya had just selected Tomoki for his team.

"Kouji," said Izumi, a glimmer in her eye.

"_Nooo! _He's the best pitcher!" whined Takuya. "I was going to pick him next!"

"Should've chosen him first."

"Fine! Junpei can throw pretty far too!"

"That leaves me with Kouichi!" laughed Izumi.

"Argh! And the best _defense?"_

In no time, the fight had begun. Izumi and the twins had taken refuge in a line of thick pines, where Kouichi and Izumi crafted snowballs while Kouji pelted them at a snow mound, where Takuya's team hid behind.

Junpei and Takuya burst out behind the mound and chucked some chunks back at him, crying out a war whoop.

One of their snowballs hit Kouji on the side of his head, and he staggered in surprise.

_Ow! They must have ice-balls or something!_

Izumi ran out from the trees with several snowballs in her hands.

"Take them!"

Kouji took two and pelted them both at Junpei, then made three more aimed for Takuya's head. They cried out in surprise, and were not very successful at getting revenge.

"You think we got them on the ropes?" asked Izumi, laughing as they threw weak clumps of snow at them, missing them by more than a foot.

Kouichi laughed, and Kouji managed a grin.

After an endless back and forth firing of snow and ice, Izumi's mother called them in for hot cocoa. It was undetermined which side won the fight.

"We conquered you!" Takuya insisted. "We clobbered, crush, and ultimately defeated you!"

"No way! You should have seen your faces when you were being buried in snowballs!"

Kouji kicked the snow off his boots idly as he listened to Izumi and Takuya's latest argument. He slipped off his jacket and hung it in a rack in the closest, and even after he had taken off his snow pants, gloves, hat, scarf, and boots, they were still fighting.

"Look, Izumi...!"

"Don't you start with me, Takuya!"

"Come on, guys, let's call it a tie and get some hot chocolate." Kouichi sighed.

One the table in the kitchen were six mugs of boiled water with boxes of cocoa flavoring packets, and a plate of warm chocolate chip cookies. Mrs. Orimoto hovered around the kitchen, looking for spoons and napkins.

Kouji poured a French Vanilla packet into his silver mug, and stirred it with his spoon just handed to him, the metal clinking quietly against the ceramic.

"Well...I'd say we'd call it a day." said Takuya.

"Yeah. I have homework to do one way or another." Kouichi agreed. He sipped his mug.

"Same here," said Junpei.

"I have a book report," added Tomoki.

"Fine, but let's IM what we're going to do tomorrow, OK? There's bound to be lots of things you can do on a weekend like this."

Izumi took a drink of her hot chocolate.

"Anything can happen!"

Kouji froze up, even after taking a casual gulp of his steamy drink.

_Anything can happen..._

_-o-o-o-_

Kouji had just opened the door to the house when he heard someone yell at him.

"_Kouji! _Where the hell 'ave you been?" his father roared from the living room. "An' where's Satomi?"

_He's drunk, _Kouji thought to himself. He could smell alcohol from where he stood, shrugging off his coat.

"She went to town to run some errands," Kouji replied calmly. He walked into the living room where his father sat on the couch, his suit from work still on, beer bottles rolling and clanking on the carpet. Kouji noticed the television was on and that there appeared to be a football game being played.

"Liar! The two of you left at eight in the mornin'! It's 'our in the afternoon!" He bellowed, chugging down some more liqueur.

_How does he know? Well...for all I know he could've been stealing beer in the fridge..._

_But wait..it's four? But...that can't be right. She couldn't't have been gone for eight hours!_

"An' where were _you?"_

"I...went to Izumi's house until one. Then I shoveled driveways until 3:45," Kouji explained quickly.

"Fine. You're off the 'ook. Put the money on my desk and call 'Tomi."

"Fine, and while I do that, you go sober," Kouji muttered under his breath. He walked over to his father's study and pulled out the forty dollars he had gotten shoveling for his two neighbors. He made sure his father wasn't in sight, and pulled out ten dollars for himself.

_He won't notice...he'll still have thirty..._

Remembering his last assignment, he picked up the phone in the study and dialed Satomi's cell number. He stooped down to pet his energetic Shepard, Shadow, who danced around his feet.

After a few rings, he was asked to leave a message.

_I guess I don't have much of a choice..._

The phone abruptly beeped. Shadow jumped up and barked, her tail thrashing back and forth.

However, she wasn't looking at Kouji or the phone.

"Satomi, it's Kouji. Where are you? I just got home and Dad says you haven't been here since this morning. Please call me back, I don't care if it's on my cell or house phone. Bye."

Kouji turned off the phone, and sighed. What was going to happen now?

Shadow was sent into fits of barking when the doorbell rang at that moment.

He heard his father order him to get the door, so Kouji briskly went over to and opened the door.

He had to blink his eyes at the flashing lights of red and blue around him. He looked up to see two police men glaring at him.

"Is this the Minamoto residence?" asked one of them, holding a notepad.

Kouji suddenly couldn't breathe. He nodded slowly. He thought he heard the sound of police sirens and people talking in the front yard, but he wasn't so sure of anything at that moment.

"We need to speak to your father."

Before Kouji could think he saw his father approach from behind. He had fixed up his hair while Kouji had stalled and he could smell the fresh scent of mints on his breath.

"Yes, Officer?" he asked, hands on the doorframe.

"Well...we've got some bad news."

* * *

**Oh, dear. What happened? This next chapter I may have to bump up the rating a bit...but...hope that doesn't stop you!**

**Silver**

**P.S - I DO realize there weren't any reviews for my last chapter...but oh, well!**


	3. Running Away

**Chapter 3**

**Running Away**

"So, basically, she withdrew nearly all of your money from your bank account and we believe ran off with a past beau she had a kid with." the Officer explained as he paced around the living room. He seemed to have forgotten something, yet he couldn't bring up the thought that was gnawing at the back of his mind since earlier that afternoon.

Kouji sat quietly on the couch, not daring to say anything to anger his father, who seemed to be on the verge of exploding. Kouji knew he was going to be in for it later.

"Ah!" exclaimed Officer - Smith, from the tag - as he clicked open the briefcase that had been leaning against Kouji's side of the couch. He pulled out a folded up piece of paper.

Kousei, who seemed to be angry enough to gulp down the beer bottles hidden under the couch, exhaled sharply and held out his hand to receive it.

Officer Smith pulled it away from his grasp, and, to Kouji's surprise, delivered it to him.

"It's labeled 'Kouji Minamoto'...I'm guessing that's you, son."

Kouji caught his father's eye, who he knew would intercept the note after they left, and unfolded the paper, smoothed it against his leg, and pulled it toward him so nobody else could read it. His round blue eyes darted the paper restlessly.

After a few seconds, he did something entirely unexpected.

_"That bitch!" _Kouji screamed, jumping up and crumbling the paper. _"That damn bitch!"_

Before either of the two men could say anything, Kouji had dashed up to his room in a state of indescribable anger.

Kouji slammed his bedroom door shut, and in his rage flung himself in his bed, screaming into his pillow. When he felt he had calmed down enough, he unfolded the paper again.

In neat handwriting, it said:

_Kouji,_

_I know I am a coward. I know I betrayed you with my up most selfishness. But I had to do what was right for me. A hole that was being driven into my heart has been healed seeing my younger daughter again. But another one is being driven straight through it at the thought of never seeing you again. I know you don't have much money left, and your father is going to be more explosive than ever, but know you have wonderful friends and a loving mom and twin. I am deeply sorry for what I have done._

_Love,_

_Satomi_

Kouji ripped up the paper several types, wordlessly, and when it reached the point of being torn into confetti, he tossed the remains in his waste basket. Then he put his cheek on the cool wood of his desk, resting his forehead against his arm.

He did not cry or scream, or feel angry or upset.

He felt numb.

_-o-o-o-_

_"What?!"_

Takuya didn't believe what he had just heard. He ran into the closest bathroom and locked the door so he could hear Izumi over his brother's video game.

"You're so loud, Takuya-kun! I'll tell you again: in the local paper this morning, there was a small article that mentioned Satomi running away from Kouji-kun and Kousei and taking nearly all of their money!"

"I can't believe she'd do that! When did this happen?"

"Hold on, I'm looking at the article right now," Izumi spoke up a few seconds later. "It happened yesterday. According to the article, she left at eight - we saw her coming with Kouji-kun to the house - and at about nine she reached the bank and withdrew nearly all their money, leaving only a few thousand dollars. Then between ten and one she is guessing to have met up with her old fiance and daughter, and they presume they took a car and just...left."

Takuya felt rage boil inside of him. He knew very well how angry Kouji's father could get, and this was sure to make him burst.

"Well...tomorrow we have school, but should we say anything?"

Izumi was silent.

"I really don't think so. I don't think Kouji-kun would like to talk about it, if you ask me."

"Fine. We'll just make our usual rounds and not mention anything."

Takuya hung up, not sure of how he felt. He was furious that Satomi betrayed his best friend's family, upset that there was nothing he could do about it, and a bit frightened at the thought of Kousei's rage.

The rage that could kill you.

_-o-o-o-_

Takuya waited patiently outside the Minamoto house, tapping his foot and adding in all of his usual impatience.

"Come _on!_ Let's _go!_ We don't have all day, you know!"

"Shut it, Takuya. I told you already, I'm coming out."

Kouji opened the door, his backpack slung over his shoulder, and opened the gate to leave his house. He seemed to be perfectly fine at first glance - he was walking with his casual stride, and his long-sleeved navy shirt, his light blue shirt layered over it, and his navy cargoes were all clean and fresh. He had his jacket in hand, making his way through the vanishing snow. It was, after all, March.

It was when Kouji started to slip on the jacket that Takuya saw the bruise.

On Kouji's left cheek, right on the cheek bone, there was a somewhat large, bluish mark that immediately caught Takuya's eye. It had a yellowish hue to it, so at least it was healing.

Takuya didn't have to guess how he got it.

Yet, he continued to walk beside him, in silence, not saying a word until that had reached Izumi's house.

_"IZUMI!" _screamed Takuya at the top of his lungs. _"Get out here right now!"_

"Come on, normal people live here." complained Kouji of his screaming, glancing around for any passerby that might have noticed them.

Izumi almost immediately ran out, wearing a violet-striped top and knee-high Capri's. Her purple backpack bounced as she trotted down the steps at her door.

"Hi, Kouji-kun! Takuya-kun." Izumi greeted them breathlessly. "Let's go! We have half an hour to get to school -"

"Uh, Izumi-chan...?" Kouji interrupted. "Your jacket...?"

"Ah! Your right! Sorry!"

The remainder of the trip followed a similar manner, with Takuya screaming at the houses and Kouji complaining for him to keep it down, except everyone else was wearing their jackets as they came out.

And everyone had seen Kouji's bruise.

When they arrived at Shibuya Elementary School, Tomoki stole one last glance at Kouji before waving good-bye and dashing over to join his other friends at the elementary playground. The five remaining children walked over to the Junior High, where Takuya, Kouji, Izumi, and Kouichi all attended seventh grade, and Junpei had entered eighth.

The bell rang at about 8:30, and everyone had gone inside to begin the school week.

And it was going to be one long day.

* * *

Finally, another chapter completed! Review, please!

WingsOfSilverSorrow


	4. The Fight

Thank you for all who reviewed! I am a bit disappointed that I don't have as many reviews as I hoped for...but I shouldn't complain. Poor helenw713 isn't getting a lot of attention for her awesome stories...so please check them out! 

**The Fight**

The first period of the day was gym, which was the only one of two periods the four seventh graders were all together in, besides Language Arts.

Kouji had just come out of the locker room, wearing the school's gym uniform - a pale grey top with Shibuya Junior High stretched across the front and slate grey shorts labeled 'Minamoto'.

Takuya came bursting out after him, dashing over to the side of the gym with the usual soccer game being played. Izumi was with some other girls in the bleachers, laughing and talking. Kouichi had forgotten his gym shoes (again) and had had to retrieve them from his locker.

So Kouji waited by the doors, keeping a look out for Kouichi. After he got dressed, they would probably do what they usually did: either walk around aimlessly or join Takuya's soccer game.

However, today he noticed that he seemed to be catching the looks of many of his classmates that walked by. Kouji knew exactly why, but couldn't decide whether it was because of the painful bruise on his face or of what had just happened to him.

Kouichi suddenly burst through the gym doors, now wearing his gyms shoes, but also carrying his gym clothes.

"Turns out I forgot to bring these, too!" Kouichi explained breathlessly.

Kouji sighed at his brothers lack of intelligence that day, and watched him scramble to the locker rooms. Since he had come out of his coma, he had been a bit forgetful at times.

"Hey, Minamoto."

Kouji turned his gaze away from the doors to see who was addressing him. It was a tall, muscular boy with silvery eyes and sandy blond hair that Kouji recognized as Scott Jefferson. Behind him stood some shorter kids that he could not identify, but nevertheless they looked threatening.

"Read about you in the paper, Minamoto," Scott hissed. "Heard your old lady ran off with her boyfriend. Is that right, Minamoto?"

Kouji noticed that not only was nearly everyone surrounding him was taller than him, but that there _were_ more people crowding around him. They formed a small half circle around them, and Kouji could see that there wasn't an easy way out.

When Kouji did not answer, Scott lashed out his fist against Kouji's face, making contact where his bruise was. Kouji inhaled sharply, nearly choking him, and knelt down involuntarily toward the floor. Scott seized his collar and pinned his against the brick wall, a murderous gaze in his eyes.

"Answer me, Minamoto!"

"Well, if you read it in the paper," Kouji leaked out, suffocating as the cloth dug into his neck. "I guess it would be true."

Scott hit him again, and Kouji cried out again. He tumbled to the floor, panting, his face throbbing. He heard some of the other seventh graders snicker, some, burst out laughing, and several of them whispering to one another. He heard Scott murmur something to his posse, and then felt a sharp tug as Scott yanked a long strand of hair.

"_Meet me at the blacktop ten minutes after ninth period bell. Come or your empty-headed brother will be the victim instead." _he whispered icily in his ear. He let go of Kouji and started laughing loudly to his friends as the crowd slowly disbanded.

When Kouji was sure they had gone, he looked up. Takuya was still playing his soccer game, looking as hot-headed as ever. He stood up shakily and noticed that Izumi was still chatting away to her friends, except watching the game. He heard the locker room door creak as Kouichi exited the locker room.

"I can't believe how forgetful I'm getting...I mean seriously, I..." Kouichi stopped ranting abruptly in the middle of his rant. "Hey...your face is kinda red on one side. What happened?"

"Someone...someone threw a basketball at my face." Kouji lied quickly. He didn't want his brother to worry pointlessly about him.

"Oh...well you should stop standing in a daze all of the time. Then there'd be a few less basketballs knocking you around,"

Kouji could tell that he was trying to lighten the mood, but not of the lie he had told.

Obviously, he'd known that his father had struck him the previous night from one glance at his face.

Gym came and went, and Kouji followed his usual schedule, but didn't really know what he was doing half the day. All he knew was that second period he went with Takuya, third period with Kouichi and Izumi, fourth and fifth period with Izumi, lunch and recess in silence with the whole gang, eighth period with Kouichi, and ninth period with everyone. He merely trailed behind them into the classrooms, and seemed to be in another world the rest of the time.

Except ninth period, which Kouji blankly remembered as Language Arts. He was in Mrs. Jones class that period, with everyone else.

"Okay, kiddos, I know it's Monday, and that we have only have a week until Spring Break, so I decided..." Mrs. Jones began to rant.

Kouji sat in the corner, in front of a window and next to a door to another classroom, where a clock was hung over the door. Takuya was silently cheering about everything Mrs. Jones was telling them, from across the room, and Izumi seemed just as please from a few rows down from him. Kouichi was almost exactly inbetween Izumi and Kouji, but he was one row closer to Kouji, and seemed to be quite relieved about whatever the teacher was going on about.

Kouji glanced at the clock: 3: 18. Two minutes until the bell rang and ten until he had to be on the blacktop.

Before he knew it, a shrill bell went off in the classroom, and all the students scurried off and away for the day.

"Bye, Kouji."

"See you tomorrow, Kouji-kun!"

"Later, Ji-san!"

With the exception of Takuya's comment (which took up two minutes of the ten he had to get to his destination), he barely acknowledged his friends. He was too busy thinking about what would happen to him in the next eight minutes.

Kouji dashed to his locker (which was a ways down from the seventh grade hall), and quickly tossed his binder and lunch box into his backpack. He threw on his windbreaker and boots, throwing in his gym shoes with the remaining items in his locker. He slung his load over his shoulder and calmed down considerably when he saw that he still had five minutes to get to the blacktop.

Kouji turned the corner of the building, making his way through a path of slush and melted snow, trying to be careful enough not to get his long pants wet. Satomi would kill him -

Wait.

_What the hell am I talking about? The bitch ditched us and ran off with some bum and a brat. _

_God...I've been so uptight about Gym that I haven't thought of anything else._

"So, you showed up, Minamoto."

Kouji froze, so suddenly that he staggered into a deep puddle of slush water. He shivered as the freezing cold water went through to his skin. He looked up to see Scott and four others standing at the corner of the Junior High building that Kouji was about to turn.

Before Kouji could think, something hard and cold slammed into his face, blinding him as ice water stung his eyes. He felt somebody yank his backpack out of his hands, and two others grab both of his arms. When he managed to open his eyes, he cried out as he was whacked in the face, again.

"Bet it was your fault."

Another slap in the face.

"Bet she couldn't handle that old drunk and a brat like you, huh, Minamoto?"

A stunningly painful hit on the bruise.

_"Isn't that right, Minamoto? Answer me!"_

A hard kick in the stomach made Kouji wheeze, and another punch in the jaw resulted in blood streaming out of his mouth.

_"I want to hear you say it was your fault, Minamoto! I want you to scream it out!"_

Kouji could hardly keep track of what was happening. He felt warm blood drip from his mouth, and from his bruise, and people hitting him, over and over again...

He couldn't take it.

_"STOP!" _he screamed. _"Leave me the hell alone!"_

Kouji thrashed his sore legs, and with every successful kick he heard an angry shout. He could feel nothing but pain as he wildly attacked Scott and his gang, with a new bruise forming every time he turned.

Eventually, he knelt down, breathing heavily, waiting for them to finish him off.

"Eh...this guy's will squeal us out if we keep going. He learned his lesson."

Kouji looked up, confused. As he spoke, he felt his dry lips crack and bleed.

"What...lesson?" he wheezed.

Scott kicked him, hard, in the hip, causing Kouji to topple over into a puddle. Soaked and freezing, he heard Scott roar with laughter.

"Heh...always answer Scott Jefferson, bitch."

He and his pack laughed like a pack of overgrown hyenas, leaving Kouji in the muck. Injured and bleeding, Kouji shakily stood up and limped over to his backpack, and pulled it out of the snow daintily. He swung it over his shoulder, and began to slowly continue his long journey home.

_Just because I didn't answer that jerk right away I got beat up?! Ugh...I'm such a moron._

_-o-o-o-_

Kouji opened the door to his house as quietly as he could, watching for his father as he came in. He slowly took off his jacket, now bloodstained and wet, and took off all his stained clothing, dumping them into the washing machine. He dressed in different clothing and was starting up the washing machine when his father caught him.

"Where the hell have you been?" Kousei muttered darkly. He had just come in from the living room, no doubt watching some sport on television.

"Got beat up." There was no lie getting past Kousei. At least, not when he was bleeding and washing his bloody clothes in the washing machine.

"Heh," scoffed Kousei. "You deserve it anyway...it was your fault Satomi left, so why shouldn't they punish you?"

Kouji whirled.

"It _wasn't_ my fault, you _drunk!_"

_Slap._

Kouji flinched sharply, instinctively putting his hand up to his burning cheek. His head was spinning by now.

"Don't you talk back to me!" Kousei bellowed."It was your fault, dammit...you hated her when she was just trying to be your friend!"

"Shut up!" Kouji yelled back. "You were trying to replace Mom...who you said was dead all my life!"

Kousei growled and brought his hand back. Before Kouji could react, his father's hand had curled into a fist and slammed into Kouji's jaw.

Kouji's neck snapped to the side, and nearly fell with out the support of the washing machine. He groaned, feeling blood form in his mouth. He slumped down onto the cold tile floor of the laundry room.

"I'm damn sick of you, boy," hissed Kousei. "For that, you are not _ever_ visiting your precious mother again!"

"Just die," whispered Kouji. "Just die and burn in hell..."

Kousei laughed maniacally.

"You wish, boy...oh, you wish..."

* * *

**Wow, that was long. What will happen next:O**

**Well, PLEASE review! **

**WingsOfSilverSorrow**


	5. Enough is Enough

Lame-o chapter heading your way. I promise I will have a better second chapter, though. The reason this one took so long was because I've been watching Adventure 02 for the first time (I've seen bits and pieces of Tamers, but my brother knows a heckuva lot more about it then I do XD). Anyway, Chapter 5!

**Chapter 5**

**Enough is Enough**

"Kouji? _Kouji! _I don't want to be late! Come on!"

Takuya impatiently paced back and forth at the fence of the Minamoto house, constantly checking his watch as the seconds rolled by.

_"Kouji, dammit, get the hell out here right -!"_

Suddenly, the front door opened to reveal Kousei, walking down the steps in a suit and a briefcase in hand. There was something in his dark eyes that made Takuya shiver.

"Er...Mr. Minamoto? Is Kouji coming to school today?"

Kousei glanced at him, surprised, and anger flashed across his face. He composed himself and paused at the gate.

"Kouji," he began. "Fell down the stairs when he was going to take Shadow for a walk, being as energetic as she is, that dumb dog,"

"Oh...will he be okay by tomorrow?" Takuya insisted.

He didn't like the long pause Kousei took before speaking again.

"Maybe...I'm not sure," he snapped. "Just stop stalling here and get to school,"

Takuya nodded quickly, and dashed to the the street that led to his next stop, Izumi. He was too shaken up by Mr. Minamoto to turn around and see a white-skinned, raven-haired boy staring at him from his bedroom window.

_-o-o-o- _

Takuya rummaged through his bag of Cheez-Its, one knee against the rim of the lunch table, the other jiggling like rapid fire underneath. Izumi, although annoyed with the constant vibration, said nothing and sipped some chocolate milk through her straw. Kouichi pulled out something from his lunch box and groaned.

"Ugh...pineapple. I keep telling my mom to stop packing them," he said in disgust, holding up the bag of slices of syrupy yellow fruit.

"Ha, ha...too bad Kouji isn't here to steal them from you." Takuya laughed. "I have no idea why he loves fruit so much -tangerines, plums, peaches, pineapple -"

"Why isn't Kouji-kun here today?" interrupted Izumi. The question that had been nagging her all morning had finally come up.

"Oh..," said Takuya, furrowing his brow and narrowing his eyes. "His dad was going to work and he told me he fell down the stairs when Shadow was going to be taken on a walk."

"Oh! That's terrible!" Izumi cried.

"Obviously, my father was lying, Izumi," snapped Kouichi, his normally calm and laid back personality consumed by sudden anger. "For all I know, he could have been hit by Kousei again."

"Can't Kouji just stand up for himself? Or call somebody?"

"Well, let's see...he is about your height, which is short for a seventh grade boy, and Kousei, like me, is tall. It would we kinda hard to 'stand up' to him, and his smart mouth is probably half the problem."

"You look like your old man and Ji-san looks like your mom, yet you act like the total opposite," scoffed Takuya.

"What a way to lay out the obvious, Takuya," Kouichi snapped. "That's the point. If Kouji sassed my dad yesterday for whatever reason, Kousei must have been really pissed off."

"Or maybe it wasn't just Kousei."

Takuya and Kouichi, surprised at Izumi's statement, followed her wide-eyed gaze at another table not much farther than theirs.

"...he's probably hiding in his room right now. We really bashed him up good," snickered Scott Jefferson to members of his gang, who were surrounding the table. "Yeah, he fought back, and we had to get out of there before someone caught us...but Minamoto's not here today, is he?"

The whole table laughed, and Izumi saw Takuya's eyes flash with realization, and Kouichi growl angrily. They both stood up suddenly, shaking the table, and started towards them.

"Stop!"

Izumi raced after them, grabbing their wrists, and pulling back hard.But when a short girl was trying to stop two tall boys from going on a murderous rampage, it wasn't working as well as she hoped.

"_Stop, _you two! If you get in a fight, we'll get in so much trouble -!"

"Did you just here what he did to my frickin' brother...!" hissed Kouichi, skidding to a halt, all of his usual innocence and friendliness evaporating, straining against Izumi's grip.

"We can't let them get away with it!" Takuya snarled. "You've been here as long as I have, Izumi, and you _know _they always do!"

_"Just don't kill them and they won't!"_

"What the hell do you mean?" Takuya snapped, but he stopped straining, as did Kouichi.

Izumi sighed with relief.

_If only they could just listen to me once in a while! _she thought exasperatingly.

_-o-o-o-_

"_That's _your brilliant plan."

Takuya stared blankly at the envelope that Izumi had handed her. Written across the front in her neat manuscript was 'Principal Skepter', and he had no idea what she had written inside.

"Yes," Izumi replied calmly. "I wrote on looseleaf that we suspect that Scott Jefferson and his gang has been going around and beating kids up, and that he needs to have better moniters."

"That'll offend him, if anything," Kouichi sighed. "But lets try it."

So Kouichi and Takuya waited patiently outside, while Izumi dashed in and set the letter on the desk. It was about four-thirty, and people were starting to go home. Takuya was taking a break from indoor soccer practice and Izumi had just had chorus. Kouichi had to stay at Shibuya's After School Club until his mother could pick him up.

Izumi came out, grinning and giving them a thumbs up. Takuya shrugged, and heard a whistle from the gym, calling all the players back in. He waved a hurry good-bye and left them to join his teammates.

Kouichi returned to the After School Club, and Izumi retrieved her backpack and started walking home. The entire way she thought of whether her idea was going to work, and if Kouji would ever be brought to justice.

* * *

Okay, that REALLY sucked, I know. I promise the next chapter will be better, sorry for the crappiness in this one. 

Review!

WingsOfSilverSorrow


	6. Fact of Life

I appreciate every single review I get, and I have noticed that a LOT of them have something along the lines of 'Kouji is the type to fight back'. Well, why didn't he with Scott, or Kousei, do you ask? Well, at first, I was like, "Uh...actually, Kouji, why don't you?" and then I remembered. Anyway, here is:

**Chapter 6**

**Fact of Life**

Kouji's head pounded in his skull as he lay on his bed that Tuesday, his headache increasing as the harsh sunlight burned his eyelids. His bruises hurt, and his face still throbbed from the night before.

And worst of all, his throat was parched.

Kouji, not able to stand the burning dryness in his throat much longer, slowly steadied himself to a sitting position, then managed to get out of bed. He was still wearing his clothes from the day before, but that didn't bother him. Before walking downstairs, he rolled up his sleeves and pant legs to survey the damage. There were several purplish marks imprinted on his skin, all over his arms and legs, like a disease. He could feel more on his shoulders, back, and hip from where he fell on ice on the way home, and from being the victim of Scott _and_ Kousei.

_Damn...I will just have to wear jeans and my windbreaker all day tomorrow. No one will notice...besides, if my father said I fell down the friggin' stairs, who's going to stop me from sitting out at gym?_

He limped tiredly down the stairs, each _thump _on the wood his heavy step. Shadow was lying gloomily my her favorite rug by the staircase, and she looked up Kouji stoically as he came pounding down. She was normally a happy-go-lucky sort of dog, but even cloaked in the bright rays of sunshine she bore no sparkle in her eyes.

Kouji would have normally given her a pat, but couldn't suffer the pain of bending over, likewise, she would have followed him with the kitchen if she wasn't so upset. He opened his cabinets and reached in for a plastic cup, then limped over to the refridgorator to have the dispenser spit out ice cubes and pour water. Then, just as slowly as he had came, he returned to his room, having as little water in the cup as he had to begin with.

_What a boring day..._Kouji thought tiredly. He lay back in his bed, and the last thing going through his mind before he drifted off again was,

_This is worst then Thanksgiving.  
_

_-o-o-o-_

_It was Thanksgiving._

_Kouji had just arrived at Tomoko's house from the bitter cold, unwrapping his scarf as he came in. The entrance to the small condo was literally the kitchen, and Tomoko was already preparing the dinner. She greeted him and Satomi warmly, and paused at the sight of Kousei. His face was expressionless, and Tomoko returned the glazed stare._

_"Kouji!" called Kouichi, who was getting up from the couch by the television. He was wearing baggy jeans and a navy sweatshirt, like any other day, opposite from Kouji, who was wearing his best slim jeans and gray shirt. His newly cut hair hung in wisps around his face, whipping into his eyes as he and Kouichi retreated to Kouichi's bedroom, leaving Kousei, Satomi, and Tomoko alone to get accustomed to each other._

_Kouichi's room was small, only about half the size of Kouji's. He had a small bed shoved in one corner, and a space-consuming corner desk in the other. A meek bookshelf was nailed onto the wall, and a squat dresser was seated below the one large window on the wall opposite of the door. Kouichi slumped on the bed, thinking, and Kouji sat at the computer his older twin had received from his mother after the purchase of her laptop._

_As Kouichi began searching his room for reasons Kouji didn't know, he decided to see what anime he could watch, since there was no cable at his own house. Fruits Basket...Naruto Shippuden...Wolf's Rain...he scanned YouTube for anything, anything he could watch. Fruits Basket he knew nothing of, Naruto wasn't interesting him at the moment, and Wolf's Rain seemed a little dark for his taste, although maybe he would research it. _

_In the end, Kouji decided to pass on anime. _

_"Nii-san...what are you looking for...?" Kouji asked his brother curiously as he swiveled in the chair. Kouichi triumphantly pulled out an envelope that he had pulled out from in between his mattress, and strode over to Kouji at the desk._

_"Move over," Kouichi order dismissively, and Kouji slid to the side of the swivel chair so Kouichi could sit. He then opened the envelope on the birch, pulling out two photos, crisp as the day they were taken._

_"Found these in Mama's drawer," Kouichi explained mischievously. _

_Kouji stared at the photos, pulling the chair closer to the desk. One photo was of Kouichi, maybe at four or six years old, sitting on the floor, smiling, petting a dark gray tabby with green eyes. His wide, deep ocean blue eyes overflowing with innocence._

_'We had a cat when I was younger...it ran away when I was nine, though. Mama wants to get another one when we have time to look at the pet stores..'_

_The other photograph surprised him so much Kouji nearly fell off the chair. The second one was of Kouji himself, also at four or six, leaning against the wall of what seemed to be a house. He was hugging one knee to his chest, the other straight out, and his unsmiling face seeming to just have turned to the lens as the photo was taken. His hair, only a bit shorter than what it was now, whipped around his face wildly, but he could still see the rebellious blue eyes through the black._

And to think I used to be like that, just a year or two ago_, Kouji thought to himself_. Now I just have a temper.

_"Isn't that amazing? Photographs of us! The same age, after we were separated!" Kouichi interrupted his thoughts, gathering the pictures._

_"When were we separated, again?" asked Kouji. His mind flashed with the image of the small boy he once was._

_"Mama says we were about two or three years old," Kouichi explained._

_"Then why are we six in this picture?"_

_Kouichi flipped Kouji's picture to the white backing to reveal a message - _

**_Tomoko - _**

**_Kouji at our house in Kyoto. All I can say that our second move in one year has made him a bit impatient with me, but that can't be helped. _**

**_-Kousei_**

_"Wow," Kouji murmured. "I knew we lived in Kyoto, but I never knew we had such a small house!"_

_"_That _is honestly all you can say?" asked Kouichi in disgust._

_"Do you think we'll move to Tokyo one day?" Kouji ranted off subject again. "I've never been to the capital."_

_"...Yeah, but you wouldn't be here with me. Or Mama. Besides, you're perfectly fine living in Uji."_

_Kouji froze up suddenly, and then forced a laugh._

_"Sorry, just going off in my own world. Being in your house makes me go all over the place."_

_"Or given you a completely new personality."_

_They heard footsteps downstairs and Tomoko call them to eat just a moment later. Kouichi seemingly forgot all about the photographs and headed downstairs. Kouji stalled for a moment, then followed after him._

_In the dining room was in a small room to the left of the kitchen, and the table probably held twelve people, five seats at the sides and one at each end. Kouji and Kouichi sat next to each other on one side of the table, with Satomi and Kousei straight across. Tomoko came in shortly with plates of turkey and mashed potatoes and other thanksgiving plates, which only the twins commented on. _

_Tomoko took a seat next to Kouichi, smiling, and folded her hands. Kouichi copied her action, as did Satomi and Kousei. Kouji was very confused, then realized that his brother and mother were Christian and saying grace, and folded them as well._

_Kouji knew no words to the prayer, and simply listened intently to them. He really needed a religion, he had realized, but never really thought about it until then. There were so many, though...Hinduism, Buddhism, all those kinds of Christians and Catholicism..._

_He heard the prayer end at 'Amen' and the five of them dug in. Kouji was not very hungry, but managed a drumstick and some mashed potatoes. Kouichi ate so much Kouji felt his stomach churn sickenly, and the adults were all reserved and ate in small portions. Tomoko and Satomi laughed and exchanged information in a pleasant manner, while the twins complained about school projects and what anime they should put on back in Kouichi's room. Kousei was quiet, but everytime Kouji looked up at him, he saw a dark, ominous glare that bled through his mind like ink._

_"Tomoko, what do you do for a living?" he heard Satomi ask Tomoko lightly. She had a dazzling smile on her face that night. _

_Tomoko took a swig of her drink before answering. "Well, I work at a factory that manufactures private goods, so I work from around seven-thirty in the morning just before Kouichi walks to school to two forty-five in the afternoon, right before he gets home. I was rather sick a while back, but I had to continue work to support the two of us," she replied, gesturing occasionally at Kouichi._

_"Well, Kousei and I, as you know, both work as chemists at our companies' science labatories," Satomi said. "It can get tiring as well, but not to such a drastic point! What were you sick with...?"_

_Kouji didn't bother to listen much longer. He had heard his parent's boring job profile too many times to count. _

_"Kouji," Kouichi muttered, nudging his twin with his elbow. "Wishbone?"_

_He held out the oddly shaped bone to Kouji, who braced his little finger on the opposite end. The twins pulled the bone, hard, and in moments it broke._

_"Ooh, tough luck."_

_Kouichi stuck out his tounge._

_"Hey, it's not like _I _get any bad luck. You just get the wish."_

_Kouji twirled the bone thoughtfully in his fingers. He wasn't sure he believed anything that suggested fuffiling wishes, but he didn't want to be so harsh about the tradition._

_Just before he turned twelve and met his twin, he had been a competely different person. Mistrusting of others...solitary...rude...critical...the kind of type most people would stay away from. But after he met Takuya, Izumi, Junpei, Tomoki and Kouichi...he had changed. _

_Kouji Minamoto was no longer that 'bad seed' the old neighbors spoke of. He was more considerate of other people and their traditions, studious, laid back,and strangely, fairly quiet after the chain of events that changed his life. Not quiet to ignore others, to keep them away. He was quiet now more out of shyness and nothing to say. _

I wish...

_Kouji glanced up at his father_,_ and how he stared at Tomoko._

I wish we could all just get along.

_Kouji reached his hand in his pocket, and kept it there._

_"Do you happen to have any beer?" Kousei asked suddenly. It barely sounded like a question. _

_Tomoko glanced up at him, startled._

_"Well, no, actually. I don't drink,"_

_"__Kouichi has enough brains cells to stay sober," Kouji snickered. "Wouldn't want that to happen again..."_

_"What?!"_

_Everyone besides Kousei burst out laughing, even Kouichi of his own outburst. Kouji grinned at him, and Kouichi retaliated with a playful punch upside the head. Satomi and Tomoko's calm laughter rang like chimes throughout the small household._

_"I left something in the kitchen," reported Kousei coldly as he stomped away from the table crossly. Kouji's laughter stopped as his father pounded out the door. _

_"Bathroom," announced Kouji._

_He sleuthed silently down the hallways, hearing the clinking of glass against each other as he approached the kitchen. He heard his father mutter to himself as he peered through the doorway._

_"Damn bitch...doesn't even buy beer...sittin' there laughing at me..." he grumbled as he pulled out a canteen from his jacket, previously hung in the kitchen. He gulped it down ravenously, droplets splattering and dripping down his face._

_"They weren't laughing at you, Dad," said Kouji darkly as he revealed himself, stepping out onto the kitchen tile. "I just said - "_

_"You embarrassed me in front of everybody, boy!"_

_"It's only me, Nii-san, Mom, and Tomoko-chan - "_

_"Don't you dare call her that! The bitch is not your friend!" Kousei snarled, chugging down more alcohol. _

_"Maybe not yours, but she's still my Mom!" screamed Kouji, snapping. "You may hate her, but I don't!"_

_Hurried footsteps raced down the halls._

_"Hey, Kouji. What's going on, Pa -!" Kouichi began breathlessly._

_"Argh!" screamed Kousei. He brought back his fist and prepared to make contact with Kouichi's face._

_"Stop!" cried Kouji, blocking the fist with his palm. He felt like his bones had shattered, but he didn't care. He was _angry, _rightly furious._

_"What the hell do you think you're doing, you worthless son of a - "_

_Kouji never finished because before he knew it, he was on the floor, his forhead throbbing. Kouichi, previously frozen in terror, leapt at the chance to help._

_"Kouji?! Oh, my God!" _

_He pulled up Kouji to his feet and feevishly glanced at Kousei. _

_"Papa? What are you doing to -!"_

_"Shut up, punk!" _

_Kouji watched helplessly as Kouichi was sent stumbling backwards into the counter. He slumped on the floor, tears forming in his eyes from hitting his head onto the granite._

_"What do you think you're trying to pull?! He already has hurt his head enough!" Kouji seethed as he knelt down besides his older brother._

_"Nii-san? Are you okay?" asked Kouji quietly, putting his arm around Kouichi's shoulder. His brother nodded stiffly, sniffling. He lifted his head toward the door, glancing back at Kouji with his dark navy eyes._

_Kouji's sky blue eyes followed his and heard and saw Satomi and Tomoko racing down the hall. Tomoko came in first, her neat bun bedraggled and ruined. She only need one look at her two sons, crouched and pathetic on the floor, to twist her frightened face into rage. _

_"Get out." she hissed darkly. "Get out of my house, Kousei!"_

_Satomi had come in right after her, kneeling down to comfort Kouichi, feeling his head for a bruise. Kouji shut his eyes tightly, preparing for the worst._

_"Fine. Don't want to be in this shitty house anyway!" _

_"And stay out! Anyone in your family but you are allowed in my house again!" _

_"Mama, don't -!" whispered Kouichi. Kouji was frozen in terror, not believing such a wonderful night could go this wrong._

_"Kousei! Out!" shrieked Satomi as she shoved her husband out of the opened door. She looked back at Tomoko, the only apology she could ever give written into her face._

_Kouji leaned against Kouichi's shoulder, tears already streaked down the older boys face, as he stared at the confused Tomoko. She stood in a cowered stance in front of her kitchen, a meek defence to her home. _

_Kouji stood up numbly, pretending one of his step-mother's screams were made out to be his name, and stumble over to hug Tomoko tightly. She squeezed him back, repressing tears._

_"I'm so sorry," whispered Kouji as his went out the door, too quiet for only his own ears to hear._

_-o-o-o-_

_Ten-thirty._

_Kouji held his knees to his chest as he sat on top of the covers of his bed, wearing pajamas he had layed out on his chair. He could still hear screams from Satomi and his father, all the way downstairs in their master bedroom._

_"...no right...Kouichi...Kouji...beer...terrified..."_

_"Damn you...bitch and...assholes...have to listen...me!"_

_Something shattered._

_Kousei smuggling beer. Tomoko distressed past her breaking point. Satomi part of a problem she never was. _

_Kousei hurting Kouichi because of Kouji._

_Kouji choked, and then before he knew it, tears were streaming down his face._

_He was crying. He had been holding it in all night, not finding the final push needed just to let go. All it took was one thing, one fact of life._

_Kouichi was hurt because of him._

_Kouji, sobbing, pressed his face into the soft pillow in his safe, locked room, where nobody could come in and hurt him ever again. _

_Until when the sun rose again on the harsh, cruel world that was undeserving of the light.__

* * *

_About Uji and Kyoto: Japan is divided into 47 Prefectures, which are a bit like States. Kyoto is one, and the capital city is named after it. Uji is a smaller prefecture, a bit closer to the Tokyo Prefecture. In Adventures 02, Yolei went on a class field trip to Kyoto, so I knew that the Digi-Destined live near there. So, I chose Uji because of the cute name. :)

Also, a sweet video on YouTube of Kouichi and Kouji: (Never Too Late- Kouji and Kouichi). The song playing is Never Too Late by Three Days Grace. My fave song with my fave characters. Awesomeness.

Chorus:

_Even if I say,_

_It will be alright_

_Still I hear you say, _

_You want to end your life. _

_Now and again we try,_

_To just stay alive_

_Maybe we'll turn it all around cause it's not too late, _

_It's never too late_

SO...LONG chapter, LOTS of readers, LOTS of reviews. One of those missions accomplished!

Until Chapter 7 (which could take from a couple of days to a couple of weeks!):

WingsOfSilverSorrow

P.S - Review, please!


	7. Last Chance

I never realized how much I would love the third Digimon movie. XD I have now finished all the episodes and movies for Frontier and Adventures 02! And another favorite to add to my list is none other than Wallace!

I've been listening to 'Believe' by Josh Groban non-stop while I typed this. O.o A little out of date, would you think? That and 'Diary of Jane' by Breaking Benjamin. And Caramelldansen. XD How do I get hooked on three totally different songs at the same time, I wonder. XD

Here is possibly the last chapter of Picking Up the Pieces!

**Chapter 7**

**Last Chance**

Two weeks had past since the 'incident', and things had been strangely quiet. Kouji had come back to school after a week, and he stayed out of gym class due to his injuries. He tried desperately not to limp; he had fallen on a thick, frozen ice sheet at home an his knee hurt terribly. He managed, however, to get from class to class without drawing any attention.

His friends noticed, however. They still all sat together at lunch, they still always laughed and goofed off in class together, yet Takuya, Izumi, and Kouichi all knew he had certainly not simply fallen down the stairs. But they just couldn't find the reason to stroll up to Kouji and get the truth out of him.

Eighth period was Math for Takuya, which he usually enjoyed, yet that afternoon he couldn't find pleasure in any of the equations. He thought he vaugely heard his math teacher go on about fractions and multiplying and dividing, but he didn't have to listen. _Kouji _had taught him and the others how already; he went to eighth period advanced math.

The bell rang, and Takuya quietly gathered his homework and moved on to the last class, the class the four of them were in together. The goggle-head peered in the doorway of the classroom to look for the teacher (he didn't do so well on the grammar packet), when he noticed Izumi talking to Kouji at his desk. She sat, side-straddled, in the seat next to him, laughing and motioning her hands. Kouji's bruised face occasionally broke into a grin, and then nearly burst out laughing when Izumi finished.

_Damn, she better not be saying anything about me! _Takuya thought angrily as he felt his face flush with embarrassment, forgetting all about his nagging troubles and stomping over to the pair with his binder in hand.

"Hey! What are you saying about me...?" Takuya demanded. "_Izumi..."_

Kouji turned away to smother the laugh in his throat.

"Well, remember that soccer game you had at the school two years ago? Before Kouji came?" Izumi giggled.

"_Izumi Orimoto!" _

Kouichi was not surprised to hear uproars of laughter and shouting when he came into the classroom. He quietly put down his black binder on his desk, and sat down. It would only be a matter of time before the teacher piped the lot of them down.

_Only a little longer, _thought Kouichi to himself, watching Kouji as he laughed with Izumi.

_Not much longer at all...

* * *

_

11:48 PM

It had been nearly three hours since the Minamotos had retreated to their bed chambers, but only one lie asleep in a alcohol-induced nightmare.

Kouji was ready. He had changed into fresh clothing, and was now slipping on his knotted-laced sneakers. He continued to glance up at his clock, waiting for the ditigal numbers to flash and change.

He didn't know why he was doing what he was attempting to do. Maybe he had finally gone crazy. Maybe he was just so sick and tired of his father he felt there was no where else to turn.

Maybe his old detirmined, cold self had seeped through the bleeding cracks in his shattered soul.

11:49 PM

Kouji unlocked the latches to his window, and as quietly as he could, he pulled it as far open as it could.

He felt the cold night air blow against his skin, rushing through his hair. He only hoped Kousei couldn't feel it, too.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kouji saw a familiar sight lying in the open drawer of his dresser.

His bandana.

The blue cloth accented with gray slashes that had become his trademark piece. He hadn't been able to wear it to the new school, and he had forgotten about it for some time.

Kouji, curious, crept over to the drawer and picked up the bandana. He held it in his hands, feeling and reliving the memories of year that had changed his life forever. It's cold touch reminded of the pain he went through, the softness of it brought back the kindest moments in his life, and its very _existence _was the last thing left of the old Kouji Minamoto.

Somewhere in the distance, a wolf howled.

Kouji jumped, hearing the cry cut through the stillness of the night like a knife. He started to bend down and put away the bandana, but paused.

He glanced back at the clock.

11:51.

He was a minute behind.

Kouji hesitated, but with time running out, there was only one thing he could do.

He folded the cloth into a obtuse triangle, and positioned the bandana until it came just half-way on his forhead. He knotted the back and yanked tightly, hoping his short hair wouldn't cause it to fall out.

He glanced at the mirror next to his dresser, not wanting to waste too much time. The black strands of hair covered his eyes, slipping through the bandana, and the rest of his glossy hair hung limply at the sides of his face. He also noticed something else.

MP 25:11

11:52 PM!

"Oh, crap, crap, crap..." he muttered as he ran to the window again.

He glanced down. The ground was not too far from the window, maybe five or six feet.

_I can make it_. Kouji told himself_. There is no way I cannot make it._

"I really am stupid," he groaned.

He jumped.

* * *

**Intermission**

* * *

Hey, WingsOfSilverSorrow here. 

Just wanted to say a couple things. There will be one more chapter, but I won't have any author's notes in it, okay?

One, thank you SO much for reading my story and reviewing. They really kept me going, and I thank each and every one of you.

Two, I will be starting a new FanFiction soon, 'Never Too Late'. It will be a lot better than this (I kinda ran out of motivation in this fan fiction). Not only has it's plot been completely written out in my notebook, it actually has Digimon in it (there was a hint in the chapter you probably caught, along with others, that the events in Frontier HAD happened before this, the Digimon just not being a big role in the problem)! I don't quite know how long it will be, but I DO know the protagonist characters will be as follows (I am not revealing evolutions due to a possible plot spoiler):

Takuya Kanbara

Koji Minamoto

Koichi Kimura

Zoe Orimoto

Tommy Himi

J.P Shibayama

Terriermon

Lopmon (I realize he is a boy, but Lopmon will be female in my story).

I will not reveal more than that.

Finally, please take note of my polls. It's fun to see people's opinions.

Thanks again for reading Picking Up the Pieces, and I hope you stick around for more from me!

-WingsOfSilverSorrow


	8. One More Piece

**It's the last Chapter, everybody! Hope you enjoyed my story and head on over to read 'Never Too Late', if your intrested! Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!**

**P.S - FF is REALLY pissing me off, screwing up all of my stuff. Where it said 'Um, I feel like shit, no duh' was formally seperated by a line from the sentence above, but of course FF screwed it up. Sorry about that and any other confusion.**

**Chapter 8**

**One More Piece**

Kouji landed on the ground with a sickening _thud._

And right when he tried to lift himself up, he heard a sharp _crack._

"Oh, crap. Oh, dammit. Dammit, dammit...," Kouji hissed through his teeth as he sat up. Pain spiked up and down his entire right arm as it hung limply at his side. His bandana had been knocked off, but he managed to stuff it in his pocket with his good arm.

Kouji ran across the grass, hoping no one would hear him.

_I'm almost there! _he thought to himself. _Just a little more..._

* * *

Kouichi glanced out the window, skimming the grass for anybody coming across it. He hoped that Kouji had remembered.

He heard the almost silent footsteps of his mother walk up the steps, and he quickly dashed to his bed and pulled the sheets over him. He heard the door open and the inaudible sound of Tomoki's feet against the carpet. She peered over him, making sure he was asleep, when there was a knock on the door downstairs that made both of them jump.

_Kouji! _

Kouichi jumped out of his bed, and his mother raised her eyebrows at his excitment and the fact that he was still dressed. Kouichi ignored her stares and ran past her.

When he opened the door just as his mother was following behind him.

"Yo."

Kouji stood at the doorway, holding his right arm with his left. He tried to make the gesture look casual, but the strain on his face ruined his cover.

"I _told _you using the front door would be easier," hissed Kouichi. Kouji shrugged.

"It makes too much noise. Dad would have heard me already." he said lightly. He walked into the room, ignoring the shocked expression on his mother's face.

"Kouji! Why are you...? Where is...?" she stammered. Seeing his arm, she gasped. "Kouji-chan! Your arm!"

Kouji looked back at her.

"What? I jumped out of a window."

Tomoko went into hysterics, flinging her arms and screaming and demanding to know what happened.

"Dad forbade me to see you, so I jumped out of a window and ran over here." he said cooly, sitting in a chair by the kitchen table.

Tomoko gave up, searching for a first aid kit in the kitchen cabinets.

While she searched, Kouji, went over and sat in a chair at the table. Kouichi glanced out the window, then came over and sat next to Kouji in another chair. Koji glanced at Kouichi, who returned the hesitent stare.

Tomoko returned with a roll of bandage strips, muttering to herself angrily. She dragged Kouji out of his chair and ordered him to sit on the counter.

"You're thirteen years old...I never _dreamed _teenagers could be so reckless...," she grumbled, making Kouji take off his jacket and roll up his sleeve. She wrapped a bandage around the scraped and bruising arm, pulling it tight to keep it firm. She layered it several times until Kouji wondered if she was making a cast for him instead of a temporary fix.

Kouichi stared out the window while Kouji complained about how tight Tomoko was making the bandage, wondering how screwed up Kouji's life really was. His own life wasn't too peachy either; they didn't have a lot of money, Tomoki was always sick, and had to work all the time, and he even began to feel jealous of Kouji when he first heard about him when his grandmother died. But everyday, Kouichi, Takuya, and Zoe could see the bruises on his arms and legs, especially at gym. The teachers wondered, he bet, but they had never asked.

_I feel so selfish. _Kouichi thought angrily to himself. _While I sat here and got nothing but love and care from Mama, Kouji had to live in that hellhole with Papa all day and all night, getting him flared up and hit by him. I am a terrible brother._

There was a pounding at the door.

Kouji jumped off the counter and dashed behind the couch. Kouichi also realized who had arrived, and fearfully opened the door with Tomoki coming up at his side. Just as he unlocked the door, it was forcefully pushed open. Being right there, the door whacked Kouichi in the head and slammed him into the wall.

"Kouichi!' Tomoko cried. Kouji winced, feeling tremendous guilt at that moment.

"Where the hell is he?!" roared a familiar voice. Kouichi struggled to open his eyes and focus on the intruder. Tomoko was clinging onto him, letting him lean on her for support.

"Get out, Kousei." growled Tomoko. She hugged Kouichi closer, who looked up fearfully at his father. His head was throbbing, but it couldn't block out the fear in his heart at that moment.

"Not before I take Kouji with me," Kousei snarled back. "I know he escaped and ran over here, so shut up and hand him over."

Kouichi was pissed off.

He broke away from his mother's grasp and looked Kousei right in the eye.

"We aren't giving him back to you, Papa." he snarled. "You are never going to hurt him again..."

Kouichi stepped closer, his voice dripping icicles.

"...you piece of shit."

Then Kousei hit him hard, sending his eldest son tumbling backwards onto the floor, landing next to the couch. Kouji could see the welt on his face clearly, on the same place he had seen the door open on him. He silently pleaded for Kouichi to turn and look at him, to make sure he was alright, but Kouichi stood right up without looking at him, not wanting to reveal his location.

Tomoko started bawling, pressing her hands against her face and running out of the room. Kouichi was asking for it now.

"That's right! You _are _nothing but a piece of shit! I am so ashamed of myself for wanting to meet you, now that you've turn out to be nothing but an _damn asshole, _and -,"

Kousei grabbed Kouichi's shoulders, screaming out how much of a fricking son of a bitch son he was (using a harsher substitute for 'frick', however), and tears started to stream down Kouichi's crumpled face.

"_Stop!_" Kouji screamed, standing up and rushing over to try and pull Kousei's arm off of Kouichi. Kousei dropped him on the floor immediately. Kouichi hugged his chest and started to cry, sobs raking his body, tears trickling down his face and onto the floor.

Instead, Kousei lunged for Kouji, throwing him against the wall. He twisted his arm (for some reason, the good one), screamed in his face, and hurt him without any remorse. Kouji's face remained a cold mask of steel, but he was trembling from shock and fear. He hurt all over, and badly, but he couldn't give in to him.

Kousei snarled, seeing he was getting nowhere. Kouji was pressed against the wall, shaking involuntarily and ready to cry like poor Kouichi on the floor. Kousei noticed the bandage on Kouji's right arm for the first time, and twisted it, a satisfied grin on his greasy face.

Kouji screamed, falling to the floor onto his knees, crying out and begging him to stop. When Kousei twisted it harder, Kouji screamed even louder. Kouichi screamed for Kousei to stop, still sobbing.

"Stop it!" bellowed Tomoko, who ran in, holding up a cell phone. "I have already called the police, Kousei, and I'm sure the neighbors have too!"

"You...!"

Kousei squeezed her arm, hard, and slapped her on the opposite side of her face. He screamed at her for her stupidity and everything else he felt she had done wrong.

Hearing the wailing of the sirens, Kouji felt a strange relief flood through him. His mind was growing fuzzy, and soon every movement made him dizzy.

Everything around him swirled into darkness when the police burst through the door.

* * *

Takuya was busily scrawling down notes for the science project he had to finish soon with Izumi, who continually flipped her long hair behind her shoulder. She looked up occasionally to change the channel on her television.

Right when Takuya was finishing up writing about dodecahedron crystal systems, Izumi gasped.

"...last night police swarmed the house of thirty-nine year old Tomoko Kimura in one of the poorer neighborhoods of Yasambi to find forty-three year old Kousei Minamoto abusing Kimura and their two sons, thirteen year old identical twins Kouichi Kimura and Kouji Minamoto, who was found unconcious. It appears Kouji Minamoto escaped from his home earlier that night to run away from his father's constant abuse., and was hunted down. Minamoto has been arrested and charged with child abuse, and her two boys are presently checked into Shibuya Hospital, Kouichi Kimura for head injuries and Kouji Minamoto for several injuries, the most pressing one his broken arm, all a result from Minamoto's abuse..."

"Oh, God..." whispered Izumi, tears filling her eyes.

"Shit." Takuya hissed, standing up and grabbing Izumi's hand. "We need to go."

"Um, I feel like shit, no duh."

Kouji was in a hospital bed, his arm in a cast. There was really nothing the doctors could do about the bruises; they would just have to heal on their own.

"Yep."

Kouichi sat in another bed, the welt on his face now bruise. The door had cut up his face a bit without him noticing, so there were a few stiches running down the side of his face. Tomoko slept in another bed behind a curtain, the doctors insisting she needed rest from the moment they laid eyes on her. Junpei and Tomoki didn't see the news special, so it was just Takuya and Izumi visiting them.

"It was on the news, though?" groaned Kouji. "That's going to be _so _annoying..."

Izumi shrugged. "Oh well, at least you have some kind of excuse for your arm."

Kouji stared at her in disbelief.

"_Suuuure_. 'How'd you break your arm?' 'Oh, I jumped out of a window, you see, and then my dad twisted it until he broke the bone. You see, before it was just a fracture."

Takuya laughed. "The expression on the kid's face would have been so funny, though."

They all started laughing then.

_They're all happy, _thought Kouji. _And nobody has to worry about me anymore. Now I can live with Mom, and because she has a better job, she can support me and Kouichi._

He glanced at Kouichi. He was laughing at some dumb joke Takuya made, his face light and amused.

_Now my life can be like any other kid my age. I don't have to worry about coming home and being hurt everyday, I don't have to feed myself and scrounge for groceries with my own money. I can act like a thirteen year old, not an adult._

_I guess I am one step closer to achieving happiness. _

_One piece at a time._

**End**

-WingsOfSilverSorrow


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